Mount Eden (3 chapter preview)

Chapter 3 - Part 1

The alcohol made Noah's veins buzz pleasantly. The woman that owned the house right next to the power plant had found a way to tap into the electricity store; electric spotlights shone blinking dimly from the corners as different coloured filters rotated in front them. The slow changes of colour did little to illuminate the room but helped in softening the edges of his senses. Tinny music played through the speakers, songs stolen from Eden and brought back by old companions. The speaker was makeshift, such terrible quality that the lyrics were completely inaudible; but that didn't matter. The beat thumped in time with his heart, and that was all that mattered.

'Drink up!' Elliot shouted into his ear as he half dropped two more tankards onto the tiny space on the bar Noah had managed to claim. All of his inhibitions were already gone. His rhythm on the dancefloor worsened with every drink and he'd been rejected three times. He was still grinning like a fool, though.

'Thought it was my turn to buy,' Noah commented, not caring if Elliot heard or not. His friend was already scanning faces for another girl to chat up. He gulped at the beer – there was no other way to drink it; no one liked beer for the taste – and eyed the brunette girl leaning on the banister of the balcony overlooking the ground floor where people danced. Or tried to. She was talking animatedly with four friends, each of them pretty in their own way, but hers was the most open face. Her smile was broad and there was a light dusting of freckles across her nose that he could see only when the light hit her at the right angle.

'Hey!' Elliot smacked him on the shoulder. 'That blonde girl at three o'clock. What do you think?'

Noah dragged his eyes away to examine the girl in question. She was tall, taller than both of them, and her back seemed stiff. She was staring intently at the wall beside her while her friend chatted away. She was okay-looking. Her nose was a bit too sharp, Noah thought. He shrugged. 'I don't think she's interested, pal.'

'Nah, I've caught her looking at me a couple of times. Think I should go for it?'

'No.'

'I'm just gonna say hi.'

Noah caught Elliot's elbow and jerked him back before he could move away. 'She doesn't want to be here, and she doesn't want to be chatted up by some creep.'

Elliot frowned, his bottom lip sticking. 'If you wanted her, man, you could've just said.'

'You're more drunk than I thought you were if you think she's in any way my type,' Noah chuckled, punching his friend in the shoulder and laughing harder when he stumbled and caught himself heavily on the bar. 'Lightweight.' Noah watched his friend struggle to get back on his feet over the rim of his tankard, snickering into the foul beer, until he realised that the green sheen across his face was not from the light filters.

'I'm gonna throw up.'

'Bathroom's that way.' Noah pointed.

Elliot barged by, both hands pressed to his mouth, and disappeared into the dark crowd. Noah doubted that he made it as far as the bathroom, but as long as he didn't see it then it wasn't his problem. Another glance at the pretty brunette confirmed that she still hadn't noticed him.

He sensed the figure slide up beside him, which came as no real surprise since the bar was so crowded and Elliot's previous spot was the only free space. The request of the barmaid that came from his new friend, however, was unexpected.

'A cider, please. And another of whatever Blondie's having.'

Turning to raise an eyebrow at the guy to check whether he meant him or someone else, even though there was no one else so obviously blond anywhere nearby, Noah gulped down what was left in his tankard. The guy was smiling at him, a soft smile that almost hid the glittering intent in his dark eyes. Almost.